Who Is Savant? An Interview With Aleksander Vinter and Manager Joshua Hernandez (Part 2)

[divider]Electronic Dance Music Needs A Message[/divider]

Recently we covered the basics of who Is Savant? An interview with Aleksander Vinter and manager Joshua Hernandez (Part I). The dynamic duo has a mission for electronic dance music as a whole. It was made very clear: Aleksander and Joshua are not in the electronic dance music business to make money. Rather, they’re reaching out to form a sense of community, find new talent and help people push forward. It’s not just about having fun and partying at festivals. They want to know: What does the music actually mean? Where does it go? Does it have a message and if so, are they really connecting with different people?

“Those things are super important and a lot of times that whole message gets completely lost in electronic music because by in large, there is a business to be run, so you have a lot of processed music. There’s a whole world of sound that hasn’t been touched yet. It needs a message, it can’t just be hollow fun all the time.” -Joshua

Savant laments an industry where when people start making money, it becomes about screwing people over, and that’s why nice people (unfairly) don’t get famous. Everyone wants to be a superstar, but they really don’t. They don’t want to be good musicians, they want what’s attached to that without putting in any hard work or improving themselves. Savant has always been the underdog in dance music, and he’s a part of the community to try and make it better.

“I don’t care about money and shit like that, I don’t care if people steal my music. I wear this V for Vendetta mask too, it’s all about this kind of [musical] revolution, get in people’s mind to open up a bit. Community, interact with each other, share music instead of stealing it.” -Savant

[divider]Electronic Dance Music’s Negative Stigma[/divider]

With each era of new music, a wave of disapproval has followed. Jazz, Rock ‘n Roll and Rap are a few main examples that came with individual uproars due to the inappropriate behavior, dancing or words that were used. It wasn’t uncommon for types of music to be banned throughout musical history because of the controversy that surrounded it. Electronic dance music is no different due to the influence media puts on the genre.

A great example: Deaths draw attention to drugs in EDM scene. The genre of music should be irrelevant as 22 hospitalizations occurred at a major music event that was not electronic dance music, but was in fact a country concert. The negativity that circles around electronic dance music can also come from artists within the genre as well, not just the media, as some established DJs have addressed “negative hate comments” in the past few months. Fortunately, there are some artists like Savant who are trying to change the way electronic dance music is viewed.

“It’s super negative [electronic dance music] for me, I hate this shit. I hate everything about it. I wouldn’t be sitting here with a laptop doing music if I wasn’t trying to change stuff, but I don’t listen to anything that’s out there. I’m really sad for all those people trying to make a buck because they can push two buttons.” -Savant

https://soundcloud.com/aleksander-vinter/rude-gal

[divider]The Change[/divider]

Savant is never one to be the same as everyone else, noting “I wouldn’t be sitting here if I wasn’t trying to change stuff.” Together Aleksander and Joshua have been working to improve the electronic dance music scene, but not because they want to get rich or famous. They want to send a message, help others within the community reach their full potential and most importantly, create music that will be remembered in decades to come. Stepping outside of the “norm” can be scary and raises questions about being successful, making it “big”, or perhaps selling out.

“It’s easy to go with the flow. All the guys who sit behind the scenes are always the guys who get remembered in the long time.” -Savant

Being “really different from everyone else,” in Aleksander and Joshua’s case, is going against the grain and daring to put out music that no one has heard and possibly that no one will like or even buy. They have set themselves apart from the typical cookie cutter electronic dance music that would make a substantial amount of money because they want to create and encourage others to do the same: Be different.

But to create something worth keeping is challenging. Aleksander and Joshua want to challenge others to rise above and create timeless music, as Savant is currently trying to do. Savant does not care if his music is heard. He does not care if people like his music, or not. He dares to be different and wants those who are aspiring to become musical influences to do the same. Savant said it best, “people don’t do this to lose themselves, they do it to find themselves.” Do you dare to be different?